


Feline Lycanthropy

by RedlaSunShowers029



Series: The Werecat Chronicles [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (?) no one dies anyways, M/M, Mild Self Harm, Pred!Armin, Prey!Eren, Shrinking, Vomiting, Werecat!Armin, clean vore, nonfatal vore, safe vore, unwilling vore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-08
Updated: 2014-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-21 04:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16570055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedlaSunShowers029/pseuds/RedlaSunShowers029
Summary: Essentially a remake of Fight Your Instincts, where Eren finds himself smaller than is comfortable when his best friend is the feline equivalent of a lycanthrope (werecat). This turns out to have more consequences and instinct-driven difficulties than either of them could've hoped to avoid.





	Feline Lycanthropy

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Fight Your Instincts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16569944) by [RedlaSunShowers029](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedlaSunShowers029/pseuds/RedlaSunShowers029). 



Fight Your Instincts [Remake]

Saliva hung loosely from the catboy's jaws at the sight of the two-inch-tall brunette right in front of him. Torn between instinct and morals, the instinct was starting to win him over... One look into his now dilated, glassy blue eyes told his friend he was anything but safe to be around. "A-Armin, what are you doing...?!" The somewhat catlike, slavering jaws snapped shut a few inches from his face in response. No doubt whatever instincts he had at the moment had gotten to him... But what had he asked him to do? Surely the right thing would be to get away... And fast. Either way, the blonde would never allow himself the ability to live it down if he ever _did_ devour him... 

Gradually, the feline's paw like hand swatted him off the table and into his grasp, gripping him by his jacket between his teeth to the corner of the room. At the moment, his fate seemed pretty clear... If only he hadn't mentioned the mild sense of loneliness that had caused his friend the feeling of need in helping him: at the moment, being in a quiet room all by himself, dull and lonely as it would be, seemed ideal to him opposed to his current situation. Because now, it appeared as if he would be devoured by his own friend in an instant. 

The catboy dropped him onto the ground in a small corner, backing up a little before laying down in front of him, tail twitching, studying his every movement carefully for the right time to strike. "A-Armin, please tell me you recognize me..." Eren begged, green-gray eyes darting madly in all directions for any sort of weapon he could use. A shard of glass lay at his feet... It wasn't ideal, but should be effective if used correctly. Still, he felt just awful having he possibility of maiming his own best friend... However, the sight of the inside of his jaws as he moved forward changed his mind on the dilemma. Completely slicked down with heavy, slimy saliva, lined with razor-sharp teeth, and at this angle, even the back of Armin's throat was visible to the brunette... He soon found that he would indeed have to fight back if he wanted to live. He tried his best to ignore the crashing sense of dread in his chest as he picked up the shard and sliced the air with it in a final hope he could get the blonde back to his senses. 

An hour ago, only an hour ago had this started, and to think that already the instincts had own over all Armin's vast judgement! It was unbelievable... He had not the slightest idea of its trigger, nor how he was going to get out of the situation. But still, he knew all too well what would happen if he didn't find a way to escape... But now, in what may be the last few moments of his life, to befall a fate of only the most severe betrayal, he screamed one final cry: "Armin! Please don't eat me!" 

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"E-Eren, I was wondering something..." The brunette turned around to face his friend, a soft grin on his face. "Yeah, Armin? What is it?" He hesitated a moment, before stating his question. "I-I've noticed that Hanji has been pulling you out rather often, and from what you've told me, it sounds like you may be getting a little lonely?" Eren placed one finger on his cheek, somewhat in deep thought. "Y-Yeah, I suppose you could say that. It's not unbearable, but at times, it would be nice to have another person to whom to talk to without interrogating me about it. H-Hanji means well, of course, but..." "I get the gist of it. Well, I was asking because I've got a little bit of time off tomorrow that I could volunteer to..." He faltered as Eren chuckled at the notion. "Are you saying you actually _want_ be become Hanji's little guinea pig?" Hesitantly, the blonde shifted his position. "What I'm saying is... If it made you feel any better... I daren't say I fancy being tested on, but if you'd prefer me... Watch over you or something, in case things get insane, to just keep you company... Then I'd be willing to do so." 

He was without hesitance with each word he said, each meaningful. How Armin was always trying to help out when he could... It made him come to realize the deep-set emotions of trust and the love of friendship he had with the gentle blonde in front of him. "N-Now that you mention it... Y-Yeah, that'd be great. T-Thank you so much, Armin!" Those might've well been the words that caused the end of his life. 

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The day before this incident, after his small arrangement with his friend, had been rather in his favor; despite waking up early to go to Hanji's for testing, he was a bit more than relieved to have someone he could have keep him company... Long as Hanji's testing proposals weren't extreme, all should work out well. The brunette slowly got out of bed, putting on his normal clothing and tapping his friend and whispering kindly until he awoke. "Armin... Come on. I'm going to Hanji's soon as you're ready..." The blonde's eyelids opened slowly, revealing his tired blue eyes inch by inch until they were almost wide open. "I'll be up in just a second..." he moaned sleepily, rubbing the grit out of his eyes and changing somewhat sloppily into his general uniform minus the harnesses, just like his friend. 

The winding corridors of the castle were wide open to them now, the clicking of their boots on the hard floors muffled just enough to conceal their presence. They went on,  "Does she wake you up this early each and every time she wants to run tests...?" Armin remarked sleepily. "Y-Yeah, when it's a longer one... And with the both of us, I presume that this should be one of the longer trials." Armin raised an eyebrow. "So she knows I'm coming?" "I gave her a little notice ahead of time, in case she's testing out something top secret or anything. She was, far as I remember, ecstatic. Said something about 'Looking after me,' I don't know what that means... I hope she's not going to extremes today- I'd rather your first experience of her tests be a more pleasant one..." He shuddered at the thought of the scientist being their normal, test-crazy self. 

"So I see... I don't think you should be dwelling on it beforehand- allow Hanji to explain before you get so worried about it, why don't you?" Armin replied, smiling comfortingly. And then again, he noticed just how much better Armin made him feel in general: from worry to solutions, and even standing up for him all the years they had been together. The blonde simply had a calming aura, and even his greatest tension seemed to fade away... He felt in a way he owed his friend. "Y-You're right... None of it is worth worrying about at present. Thanks, Armin." 

By now, they had reached the office of the scientist, who seemed quite pleased with their arrival, yet not their over-hyper personality that tended to define the scientist. Much unlike this, they seemed only the most mildly hyped, but mostly formal... This was undoubtedly a negative sign, if something could calm even Hanji. "Don't worry..." Armin mumbled again with a squeeze to his hand for support. "I'm sure it's going to be alright... Eren, proceed." Whatever worries he had were caught in the back of his throat and gulped back down, for Armin was right. He was getting too worked up about it. Besides, he was always given a choice whether he was comfortable with the proposed idea. He had a choice on whether to allow them to inject him with whatever chemical experiment was needed. _I shouldn't be getting so worked up... No, if I do, I won't get anywhere at all, not in the slightest._ And thus the brunette proceeded with his companion following beside. 

"I'm very pleased to see the both of you here today." the scientist stated in a cheerful tone, straightening their glasses to rest in the correct position of their face. "I'm sure you're somewhat eager to learn what I've got planned, Eren?" Before answering, Eren wiped off a bit of nervous sweat trickling down his forehead. "W-Well, I wouldn't say eager is he word to define it... Perhaps a little anxious? In all honesty, being ignorant to your experiments is rather unsettling..." "Oh, yes, of corse!" The ideas of this didn't seem too far off in the scientist's head as they continued. "Well, you see... During the past month or so, I believe I've made a particular injection that... Can change a person's size. Not Titan-sized, like the one your aquatinted with that allows you the ability to shift, but much in the opposite direction... I've tested it on a couple titans to check that it's safe beforehand, and each one has effectively reduced in size." 

Great. So they were planning to shrink him, were they? This information anything but pleased the shifter, however much he tried to ignore the stray feeling or pure dread hanging over him. Better to know exactly how minute it was predicted for him. "U-Um... Just exactly how major was the decrease in the size of these titans?" They pondered this a moment before making a final response. "On average, they became somewhere around three and five inches tall..." "So that means I'd remain visible, right? As in no one would mistaken me for something... Inferior? Like, say, a mouse?" One little nervous glance at Armin allowed him some gain in confidence, but not quite enough as Hanji looked on in his direction. "That's the role I was expecting to put Armin in. Of course, I'll be around, but the experiment entails little company besides one person. There is no requirement of this individual's knowledge on science or even the current experiment, but I believe you would feel much more comfortable if permitted the company of your friend, after voicing your loneliness as of late. Now, are you comfortable with this, or would you prefer to pass on it?" "Well, that really depends on what benefit we would gain from it. I can't say I enjoy the idea of being that small, but if it would give us more valuable information than we've already acquired, then I'll go through with it..." 

"According to planned, if the experiment proves positive, then we could possibly shrink nearby titans to size, or even ourselves and civilians if an evacuation is needed. Of course, this wouldn't be all of inhabitants... But it could lead to a higher rate of survival for humanity if we could evacuate in numbers like that efficiently. Each scout could be given a certain number of civilians to keep track of in a bag designed to allow them to be transported safely... Titans wouldn't be interested in the much smaller set of humans, in any case." This could, if thought through efficiently, lead to the revival of the human race... It didn't take all that much pondering after this was considered by the brunette. "I-I suppose you're right... That sounds like it could well be a benefit... Long as you've got a sense in what it could be used for, I'm willing to be subjected to the conditions." he responded with a hint of reluctance, his arm extended for the scientist to administer the injection. No sooner had they done this hat he began to feel dizzy... The effect of the liquid making him feel more and more exhausted and soon collapsed afterward. The last noises he heard were Hanji stepping out of the room, the shattering of glass, and Armin hollering out in pain. 

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He awoke in the room yet again as the dreariness began to subside gradually, the pained shouts of his friend subconsciously echoing in his head. What was that about...? And was Armin alright, or had something tragic befallen him? The thoughts got worse and worse in his mind, the possibilities getting worse and worse and worse... Up until he caught sight of her blonde from the corner of his eye: resting peacefully on one arm, which in turn lay on the table. But there was something different from his average appearance. Apart from a number of scratches- from the glass penetrating his skin, no doubt- he also seemed uncharacteristically... Feline. On either side of his  head, an ear, pointed at the top and round as an oval over all other lengths of it. From what view he had, it appeared that some claws capped off each finger, and almost directly below the waistband of his pants, a rip accommodated a yellow explosion of tail, which curled around his leg just slightly, twitching, lashing on occasion. Now it all made sense: surely, his friend had knocked over one of the experiments when Hanji was out of earshot, and this was the result, which reminded him: what had been the result of his own? Judging by the size of the environment around him, it had proven successful, and one more check, to his relief, proved that his clothes had shrunk with him. One less thing to worry about, in any circumstance. 

He barely managed to get over from his current location- one of the various desks in Hanji's laboratory- over to the one where Armin was, which resulted in having to climb his way up to the table from the ground to the ever-so-slightly animated tail of his friend. Each bit of fuzz was both advantage and disadvantage, and using one last lash of the tail, was shot forward enough to reach the desk and walk over to his friend, exhausted. "A-Armin?" he choked out with a tug on one of the folded ears. A soft, mildly annoyed mew responded to his attempts, and it wasn't long after that the blonde flicked him off back onto the table, azure eyes gently opening. "Errren?" the blonde chirped, eyes widening as he picked up the distress in his companion's voice. "W-What's wrong?" So he was still his normal self at the moment. But how would he phrase what needed to be said? "W-Well, I think... You might've bumped into one of Hanji's experiments before you fell asleep... A-And it... You're a bit... Feline now..." 

An immediate mental reaction of horror fell onto his friend's face. "N-No! That can't be what happened..." But sure enough, with each hand clawed at the fingertips and silky patches of gold fur up to his wrists, it was without question what had happened in the end. "No... This can't be good..." Experience with works about natural science had formed a bit of his understanding, and he knew quite well what could happen if he was a cat... A predatory creature, directly facing his tiny friend... With his consciousness, he'd never dare commit something so awful as to devour his friend, but if instinct took over, there was no telling. Best not to think too hard on it, at least for the moment, or panic would set in his mind. "With luck, it's merely affecting your appearance, r-right?"  

"I've got my doubts, but let's just go with that for the time being..." "Where the hell did Hanji go?" Eren interrupted in annoyance. "They went to retrieve a bit more of the antidote for your current size. Hopefully they'll be back soon, though- don't say I fancy the idea of a long extension of time without further supervision. If I really do start acting like a cat..." The rest of the thought was cut off with a shudder. "I'm not quite sure how things would end up, and I'm sure neither of us want to think about it." "How likely do you believe that is?" The catboy pondered is question for a moment, tail bristling. For even as he spoke a little slip of instinct was starting to show, and for a horrifying moment the cat took over and noticed that his friend almost looked... Tasty. A quick smack to the face caused him to withdraw from such a twisted mental state, yet it was still there... In a subconscious state of mind, he began to wash himself with his tongue in a catlike manner- a deeply off-putting display for his friend to witness. _So he really is starting to act like a cat..._ , Eren couldn't help but think to himself.  Each individual spike of doubt, worry, or fear was starting to mingle and confirm his doubts: right now, in this state, Armin wasn't safe to be around.

"Does Hanji even know that you got mutated by this experiment, or did they leave before knowing?" "I presume they remain oblivious about my current state, but... Damn would it be helpful to have someone who knew what they were doing around." The brunette gave no signs of a response, walking a little further on the table, when he, in terror, caught sight of his friend's looming shadow. "A-Armin, what are you doing...?" "Mrr? I-I was going to check if Hanji has anything in here that could confirm any behaviors to be wary of, just in case..." Another nervous gulp completed the sentence. "They've got to have _something_ of use... Aha!" His fur bristled in curiosity briefly, before returning to settle back down on the desk beside his shrunken friend, skimming the pages of an old book in a frantic yet careful manner until he came to the information he needed. "There..." Armin murmured with a troubled frown. "With luck, I'll be able to keep it under control... Yes, it's possible that this could be problematic... On an average basis, when they come across a smaller creature,  cats prefer to sit and watch for some time to study its movements... The more limited the being's motions, the longer the cat will wait and less likely it is to pounce." 

"So what you're saying is... If you lose control, to stay still as possible?" "According to cat behavior, I'd say that would be wise..." Though even at his point, the cat within was slowly creeping up and enclosing his thoughts with ones much unlike his own. _Kill, kill, kill... Devour, kill..._ His eyes blanked for a moment in the stillness, so that they only revealed a sliver of azure underneath the black abyss: the look a cat would show during a moment of aggression. And right at that moment, Eren looked up... And was soon deterred by this sudden shift in exterior. "A-Armin?" The blonde's fangs were revealed, only to disappear behind his lower lip and digging into the interior. Crimson raindrops poured from the internal cuts, and soon after he regained consciousness. 

_Kill kill kill. Devour, hunt, kill. Kill kill kill._ These words echoed in his mind like the traces of a bad dream, but with the fury of an angered chanting.  His tail was crooked and lashing from side to side, and still the curious, hungry, almost, spark was in his eyes. The more he tried to avoid it, the more it crept up on him until he couldn't think straight at all. _Kill kill kill. You're hungry, aren't you? Well, your breakfast is right in front of you._ He smacked himself again, this time being careful to drag his sharp claws along his jawline, drawing little beads of blood in the process. _Of course I'm not! Eren's my friend, not food! Where the hell did that come from?!_ But as he examined the scraps of fur on the back of his hands, it was all too clear. Every second, it was taking over more and more than before, a torrent of violence animating him until all judgement was gone. _There's got to be something I can use to deter myself from it... But I fear my judgement is really slipping now. What I need is a sort of barrier... Something to at least stall the cat in me if it comes to that. Rope would do it... But where would I get that?_

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Armin ran the rope across each furry hand, head cocked to the side as he worked on binding them in front of his frightened, bewildered companion. Shaking fingers ran along the length of it, immersed in the thoughts of what seemed inevitable at the moment. "Armin, are you feeling alright...?" "N-Not terribly... I can feel it getting more and more persistent, and I don't want to... Let it get you... This monster within me, I-I mean. I'd recommend figuring out if Hanji's around..." Eren sat up, looking directly into his friend's panicked irises with worry.  
"Well, how long do you think you've got until you lose common sense?!"  
"I've got no sense of the range- between a few minutes and an hour?"  
"Anything else? What exactly is it telling you to do?"  
Armin fell deafeningly silent in response. Sweat trickled from his forehead gradually, blood still running crimson from his jaws both internally and externally. And then, after a spell, mumbled "I'd rather not say... It's too awful..." 

Now was a time to come to terms with his friend. Eren sat up, looked directly into his panicked eyes, and replied with a gentle yet firm voice: "Armin, if you're feeling the effects of whatever this damned serum did to you, it'd be better I know what it is so I can try to avoid it. Really... I think I have a sense but... What's happening in the feline side of your mindset?" _So he can sense that my mind's split... Of course. I just tried to lash out at him because of the split..._ And so he avoided the eyes of his friend, spitting out each word until his vision blurred: "Kill kill kill... Devour... Hunt... Kill." His ears reared backwards with the strain of the words, looking as though he was about to break down into a sobbing fit. 

The look of horror in Eren's emerald eyes only widened at the notion, the cat's chant echoing in his ears and drumming in his own brain. "S-So it is... Trying to tell you to..."  A whimper behind clenched teeth and a nod from the catboy confirmed this, eyes covered by a thick screen of tears.  And even in this semi-conscious state, he was still his friend... And a pang of sympathy enveloped his mind. _He has no wish to do these things... It's what the cat is telling him to do, and he's ignoring it..._ "Maybe try muzzling yourself? So you can't end up eating me if you _do_ lose control?" He had only looked away for a few moments, and when he looked back, sharp fangs bit and gnawed at the firm binding of rope, slowly getting through... And at long last it broke free. The tangle of rope split under the savage pressure of his  slightly bloodied fangs and minuscule fibers flew from the ropes until the binding fell onto the table. "A-Armin...?!" 

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Claws raked against Armin's somewhat feline muzzle as the catboy made a little yelp of pain. A few beads of blood began to drip gradually down, until a constant stream of crimson ran down his face from each cut, the liquid falling in a garish stream of crimson as it trickled from each place it could break through. He still couldn't believe it- after all he had promised, he had nearly pulled back in time before eating his own friend. But if that happened... He couldn't even finish the thought mentally. And now, despite the his friend's short cries telling him to quit at it, he only dragged the claws further in, then finally pulling them out to rest palm-up on his knees. Each of the black digits were stained a notable amount by the time he finally quit at it. His eyes began staring horrified holes into the floorboards. 

Despite his personal premonitions, seeing the blonde in this state tested Eren's judgement throughly, and crept closer to the miserable catboy that was his friend. "Armin! H-Hurting yourself isn't going to help with anything... I know you didn't mean to-" "Stay back..." The tone was in such a self-livid monotone that it made the brunette's hair stand on end and pause. "I don't want to hurt you... I'm not safe to be around right now." It was clear he was still effected by the serum, the slash of cruelty still glimmering faintly in his appalled eyes. The cat was still very much a part of him now, and nothing would be able to change that until they got help... Maybe he could see if the door was open, and he could pass Eren through before anything happened- that was his hope, at least. So even despite his fears of harming his friend, he gently scooped him up and carried him to the door, and pulling at it with his other hand. Locked from the outside... Great. 

Now the feline was really trying the limits... He'd only have a few minutes to find a spot... Would a shelf work? Hanji had enough of those about, mostly piled to the brim with various injections and the like... One of those had to be high up enough for the little shifter to escape the wrath of his feline side. But would he be able to reach it...? That was the main question, for both placing him and his ability to smack him off when the cat took control. Three seconds... Finding the best way to get to it... Two... Placing Eren as gently as possible on it... One... Getting off just in time before the horrific demon cat took all power of his body. His eyes dilated and sparked with hatred, fangs shown tactlessly and noticeably sharp, mind reading hunger all over. He was, in short, the exact opposite of the friend Eren had once known, his sharp claws scrabbling at the shelf. 

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 _He doesn't recognize me at all like this... This is not good. Without his consciousness, I-I really am as good as dead. It'll only be so much time before he gets me... Hanji, hurry up!_ Now it wasn't just the fear that taunted him, but anger as well... If it hadn't been for her damned tests, none of this would've happened! Panicked was an understatement for his emotions, his anger bubbling up. Somehow he'd have to get Armin back to his senses- he was making the shelves shake awfully hard, and he really didn't want to be down there with the mind-altering affect of the serum causing Armin to behave so voraciously... This could not end well. The only way he saw, at the moment, would result in his death, and possibly his friend taking his own when he found out as a result. But fate be against him- he had no time left to ponder it, for one notably harsh push at the shelves caused him to tumblr down, directly into the catboy's open mouth. And everything went downhill from there- for it was at that moment that he, the "mouse," had been caught by the cat, and there was no real hope left. 

His back all slicked down with heavy saliva from this fall, he was now completely at the mercy of whatever instincts had taken full command of his companion. He refused full-heartedly to resist the possibility of being devoured whole by his own friend... He just need to figure out how... But before he could get very far, the tongue swung up to his lips, nearly resulting in many cuts along the shifter's skin, before it withdrew back inside that deep, dark cavern of a maw with a deafening _Snap!_

The moments that followed were even more monstrous: Eren found himself spat back out, filled with hope, speechless as he was only  rolled along the ground, fierce paws swatting, batting, smacking him again like a little toy. A rumble of a purr formed in Armin's throat, batting him even more fiercely and stubbornly until hungered again. In an almost human-like fashion, an evil smirk played across feline lips, dangling the little human yet again over a saliva-slathered maw. "A-Armin! This isn't funny! Put me down!" The cat's amusement didn't stop then, dropping the little human in once more and shutting his jaws one last time. 

While most people would give up at this point in time, Eren was persistent as ever to defend his own life the best he could, and his stubbornness was the only thing that kept him from giving up even in the most shocking moments of pure dread, looking around his surroundings the best he could.  The tongue underneath him wasn't completely human: like a cat's, rigid papillae lined the rough surface, the rest of the slick interior slathering him in hot drool. Nothing was in his way to grasp, to hold onto, to cling to in hopes of being yanked out or something of the sort. And I helped for naught that the rigid tongue kept rising and falling beneath him in the most unsettling way- as though the idea of swallowing him was merely a way to psychologically torment him for the feline's mere pleasure. _Damn it, I've got to get out of here somehow-_ But every thought of his was cut short again as it finally flipped one last time, resulting in slipping and sliding directly in the way of the waiting throat. 

A number of strong, slick muscles caught ahold of his lower half, dragging him down as a sickening gulp filled the equally horrific silence surrounding him. He was at the point in which he could struggle and scream and cry all he wanted, but it wasn't going to change one thing in the end. The reality was a crushing blow as Eren realized, the muscles squeezing him down, that the truth was that, whether by conscious thought or not, he was still being devoured whole by the one he did indeed consider a friend... Up until this point. _No... This can't be..._

Blue irises shocked forward with surprise, confusion spreading over him like wildfire until he felt the squirming from a small bulge in his throat. Somehow, he had managed to devour Eren, after all... _That's impossible... I wouldn't..._ Or would he? If not bound to the rules and regulations of society, would he really...? It was difficult for him to believe, and just horrific when the little shifter finally slid down entirely, landing in his cavernous stomach with a great splash with a muffled, horrified shriek. "AAAAAAARMINNNNNN!" 

All apparent color drained nearly entirely from his face, eyes wide with horror, and images of the day Eren had sacrificed himself to the Titan plagued his mind. To think that he, of all people, had inflicted that same awful pain on him again... 

Eren wiped the various array of sticky acid and slimy saliva from his clothing the best he could. _Panicking won't do any good... I just need to think clearly for a moment, and assess the situation. Stay calm... Think of a way to get out of here..._ Cautiously he felt around the squishy surrounding walls, listening to the nearly empty chasm gurgle and groan contently at the presence of this tiny meal trapped inside. Frankly, it was hard NOT to panic in circumstances like this, and it wasn't long before he was pounding on the pulsating walls with all his might, screaming out the name of his friend as loudly as he could in hopes his muffled cries would be heard. He needed help to get out of this hell of a place, and just hoped Armin was his conscious self again and wouldn't fail to notice his cries in the end. 

The little horrified screams were anything but cast aside from the conscious Werecat, becoming paler and paler and paler with every cry, every struggle, every notion of the situation. Guilt and terror enfolded him into his own dark abyss of sorts until he couldn't think straight, silent tears gushing from his eyes disbelievingly. The constant guilt was beginning to crawl up more and more- surely, if he didn't do something, Eren would die all too easily! Any moment he'd hear panic turn to agony when the acids began to make quick work of him... And yet, such a fate never befell the little shifter, and while his pitch and terror rose, he didn't sense any extent of disintegration whatsoever. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but he couldn't help but notice the evidence pointing to some extent of safety... Of course, he had no idea how such an immunity would last. Somehow he had to turn this around But how would he do something like that? That was the question.The pain of his fears still stabbed him over and over again, heart racing, feeling as though that same acid his friend was stuck in somewhere within had crawled up into his chest, dissolving his heart in an instant. But he needed to, more than anything else, calm down enough to think. _Think, just think. There's got to be a way to solve this... And panic won't get me anywhere but hell. It won't help in the slightest- and besides, it takes up far too much time and energy I could be working on a solution, right?_

It took every ounce of common sense within him not to completely lose it. Acid and enzymes were drizzling along the walls, pooling around him up to his waist at the bottom of the fleshy pit- a place of his nightmares, and, more horribly, a place that belonged to someone he trusted above all else.  How on earth had things gone so wrong? The only answer was a shattered bottle and the contents' release. The only thing that lead to his forced placement within the belly of both a beast and his best friend, was the lack of control, and while it couldn't be helped, didn't make him feel much better. He was still stuck, still hopeless if he didn't get out. The sticky, acidic mess smeared his face, caked his arms, and completely submerged his lower half, and yet he didn't feel anything. Nothing seemed to change apart from being soaked in apparently dormant digestive chemicals. 

"E-Eren...?" The whimper barely came out of his mouth and echoed against the surrounding walls inside his stomach. That tone- it was entirely Armin's own, gentle voice, and yet Eren couldn't feel much at ease with it. Intention didn't change location, after all, no matter how much he had trusted him. The notion of a promise against these actions shattered something within the little shifter’s heart. Never had he expected to end up here. _Was being a little lonely… All that bad?_ He couldn't help but wonder, even under the pressure of evading certain death. But he couldn't respond no matter how much he wished to. His lips betrayed his mind, his consciousness, made it impossible for the slightest word to form on his own tongue. The walls around him shifted, rubbed against him and trapped him further, and the only thing that came out was a small, terrified whimper. 

_Monster, monster, monster… That's all I am now. Monster monster monster monster monster…_ Monster. That hideous word… It was the ideal descriptor, one to be used against only the more demented of souls. Monster… Even if it wasn't his conscious actions, it didn't change the fact the beast was alive within him. Monster, the word slid down over a papillae-rigid tongue with no voice, crawled between his eyelids until he bled the words through the salty tears. Monster- the word was evidently hissing on each individual talon, every tooth inside his catlike maw, every instinct leading to the capture and attack he subjected his poor companion to. He was indeed a monster- a monster who needed a punishment worthy of his horrific sins. Shakily, his claws withdrew and scratched hard into his flesh, until another stream of blood flowed from each forearm. Harder, harder he raked them in, a heavier drip of blood cascaded down his injured limbs. His nerves begged him to stop and rest. But still, Armin did not stop until he had drawn enough that it dripped and drizzled down both sides, covering him in a web of thick crimson that was perhaps more than enough to make up for what damage he had done, and an anguished meow mixed with a sob continued to echo around the room: the cry of a monster truly resentful of its actions. 

Somewhere deep down, he could hear coughing, and a sort of light tapping on the inner walls. “Armin… Stop beating yourself up, that's not going to change anything…” Despite his fears, Eren couldn't help but feel a stab of pain for his friend as well. He hadn't intended to… He resented himself for it… Anger was the last thing he felt, just empty, hollow, and worried as he leaned in terror against the slick, muscular walls around the quietly gurgling stomach. If not for the array of caustic liquids around him, perhaps he would've found this comforting… If he had been without any contact to the hideous titans, whose jaws and guts still lined his memory and stabbed at his pounding heart. If not for the dark, foreboding aura of the place. If not for the truth of the situation- the acrid scent of diluted foodstuffs past devoured and digested still hung in the air, reminding him of where he truly was. He wasn't hurt… Yet, but he was indeed in the exact place where meals met their ends, and, considering the small amount of sloshing, lukewarm chemicals and fleshy walls surrounding him, he had his suspicions it wouldn't be obscure to hypothesize his environment considered himself nothing more than another meal himself: the thought echoed in his head like the traces of a bad dream, tears dribbling down his cheeks- to think that he could die like this, eaten and digested alive by his best friend. 

What could he do? He was powerless. Every kick and smack inside just caused his friend to become horrified and self resentful to the extent of tearing himself to pieces. All he could really hope for was for someone to come along and help them… His arm splashed into the appalling mess of acids and enzymes, breaking off his thoughts instantly. He really was surrounded by stomach acid up to his chest… and it was gradually rising around him. Panic sparked and ignited within him yet again, banging hard on the cell walls of his fleshy prison. “A-Armin, I need you to go find help!” 

Hearing his friend's words, the Werecat stopped midway through tearing at his own flesh, dragging himself to more important things: the door imprisoning him had to open somehow. A torrent of pure anger wrenched at his heart. Oh, how he wished to attack something that would give off a painful result to the objected subjected to his claws and fists, and the door was a good place to start. He didn't even have to think about it- the motions came all too easily to his semi-feline body. Claws raked at the wood. His side slammed against the prison door. A various array of sounds reminiscent to animals under attack escaped his partly feline jaws, mingled with screams for help, hoping, praying, _something_ he was doing to get a passing soldier's attention was working! Perhaps it was, and he already had caught someone's ears as they passed by. An ear pressed to the door caught the noise with ease. Here, the calm, steady gait of a soldier's boots echoed across the hallways, and even from behind the door, he could recognize them by sound, by scent... Mikasa was the ideal person to help them get out of this alive, and so he thrashed and kicked harder.  

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 _Odd…_ There seemed to be some sort of demon behind the closed door, whose every breath was tinged with what appeared to be faint tendrils of dire need curling around the edges. But above that the voice was familiar, even through all the mewling and hissing. But what could be causing that, she was unsure of... And the door creaked open a crack to expose the traumatized, shaking, self-hating lump of a catboy. His ears twitched, a noticeable trickle of blood streamed from the end of his tail now, and he couldn't care less for his health at the moment. The moment he rushed over, holding onto her sides with his eyes a liquified azure, she understood: Something had gone horribly wrong with the testings- after all, Hanji hadn't mentioned testing anything on him, only shrinking Eren to the size of a mouse... And the aftermath of bloody cuts and scratches along furry appendages proved the severity of guilt and horror resulting. 

He stuttered out what had happened, every word making him paler and paler and paler still no matter what portion he was on, but it didn't matter. In this horrified state, his words jumbled on top of each other, and nothing seemed to have individual meaning. The vague slur of words was enough of a response to get the meaning across, however, and the words stabbed at her heart, pale gray eyes wide with equal horror. She could believe it no more than either of the two- to think something so horrid, so appalling, had happened… A sick gulp of air later, he finally got out something coherent, pulling his already flattened ears down further: “B-But amazingly, he's still alive. I-I can still feel him moving around in there…  I'm just not sure how to get him out yet… ” Rather shakily he withdrew from her side, standing up and pulling up his shirt a bit at the corners. A shudder ran down his spine. “I'm not entirely sure about his mental condition, though…” More tears resulted by this statement, teeth clenched at the notion. “M-Mikasa, w-would you mind checking on him for me? He's barely audible…” 

She didn't respond, but instead pressed her ear up to his abdomen to confirm his words. The first thing that met her eardrum were those same typical stomach noises: gurgles, groans, sloshes, and the other more dangerous-sounding effects most familiar with the digestive process. Another sound: repulsed gulps of oxygen, at the moment all the help Armin could offer to his trapped friend. If he was even still alive… But horrific shock soon filled her brain… “Eren, can you hear me?” the dark-haired soldier asked in her normal, calm tone, but now it was tinged with tears she was gulping back from surfacing. Armin would take it terribly harshly on himself, so if something had happened, she knew deep down she couldn't attack him over it- the scars he had given himself over the span of ten minutes proved this fact, so she heeded the various noises, scanning them for a voice, a cough- anything that could mean her brother was alive. The persistent sloshing continued, growing ever nearer. The squelching sound of something inside along the lining of the walls, and finally a voice: “M-Mikasa?” 

Eren cautiously placed one hand on the stomach wall from the location of her voice. So all of Armin's frantic attempts to get someone’s attention had worked, after all… And despite being densely slathered in saliva and digestive juices, he finally had a bit of hope that he'd get out alive and unhurt. Armin was in no position to let him die, and if Hanji got back anytime soon, something could be worked out. Slowly and surely, the thought penetrated his conscious, echoing over and over and over again until the accelerated pounding of his heart lessened enough to think properly, and fully survey his surroundings. 

The entire chamber was a wreck. Besides being completely soaked down with acid and constantly moving around him, the walls themselves, even without the slick coating, would be uncomfortable to the touch. Just placing his hand on them caused it to sink into the soft muscles around him up to his arm, and took quite some effort to free afterwards. It was almost spongy, really, from the "floor" right up to the tightly closed sphincter muscle far above him, and it was pulling him in quite a bit... Eren shuddered as his foot sunk into the soft, slick surface beneath, caking acids and slime over with a small, nauseated gurgle- the catboy's gut's way of showing its disapproval of the shrunken human who refused to digest. Not as though the catboy himself objected… Quite the opposite, but it became apparent more than ever that biology wasn't something that could be controlled… If the acids found a way through his implausible immunity, he'd be digested in seconds without any time to put up a fight.

“Thank god…” The echo of the voice reverberated around the slick cavern. Eren wasn't quick to notice that, every time Armin uttered the slightest word, the walls repeated the same vibrations- each one tickled even more uncomfortably, crawling up his body like a thousand insects. “Errrren… I-I'm sorry… I'll get you out of there…” The wall around him caved in a little more, and he could only guess it was from his companion placing a comforting hand on his tight stomach. “M-Mikasa, could you try to get Hanji…? I believe a scientist in the mix would help…” 

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By the time Hanji entered, they were greeted by quite a sight: glass shards littered the floor from the broken vial, many of which dripped crimson on the end. One of the shelves was scratched up at the edges, indicating some sort of struggle or attempt to reach something. And right in the middle of it, painted in his own blood, curled up in the middle of the floor… Lay the cause of the damage. He ears perked up somewhat when the Titan biologist entered the room, but otherwise showed no apparent signs of movement in his guilt-ridden state. His eyes were wide open as if in shock, pupils dilated slightly and rimmed with a dense curtain of tears. Notable portions of his fur was slashed clean off or stained red, and his obsidian claws were flecked with the same blood: it didn't take much thought to figure out something the catboy had done was so horrid he scratched the hell out of himself, and was in no real state to explain to explain the predicament. 

Ever-shifting ears listened to Mikasa relay the information to them. She had gotten more on point than he expected, yet didn't turn around with the knowledge that a pair of wide, horrified eyes would greet him if he did. He didn't move at all until she walked over and turned him over from his side to his back. “Armin,” the scientist directed, “I need all the information you can give me, and try to calm down a little. He's alright- if Eren's still alive, then it's highly unlikely that fact is going to change anytime soon. I understand enough to help…” It was amazing that, unlike the beliefs of the typical soldier, that Hanji could be this serious about the current situation. Before being a biologist, they were human, after all. Any apparent curiosities focused currently on getting the little shifter out with no other delays. “Can you still feel him moving around in there?” 

By now, Eren had practically lost it. His brain was shifting between “I'll make it out” and “I'm going to die” at a rapid and heart-wrenching state, and then the internal  turntable smashed to pieces, stuck on the latter. His heartbeat picked up… He wasn't sure if it was the coating of thick digestive liquids or his own sweat he was bathed in any longer. Eyes widened, his senses sharpened. And was it only his nerves or were the walls caving in again? It was always a different spot- could it be this hell deciding which angle would be the easiest to dissolve him?! It wasn't until he heard the familiar tone of Hanji's voice that he calmed down a little, and then that same booming echo of his friend’s words: “Y-Yes… He's still alive somehow. I can't hear him too well, but he's surely terrified…” These words were spiked with apparent guilt and worry. “I-If you can hear me right now…” The end was too choked up for him to understand, though he understood: _I'll get you out if it kills me._ The pressure didn't cease, but his tension was rising and falling again. 

Then It was all happening so quickly then- gurgles increasingly nauseated; the walls caving in more naturally, sloshing him about; the level of acid was rising. He couldn't pinpoint any motion from another, held his breath. A small bite, a yelp, Hanji's stern voice muttering “don't hurt yourself, now.” Whimpers, coughs, and then forced upward in a sticky, slimy wave of acid and bile, forcing himself out of the blonde’s mouth at last. One final hack, landing on the floor beneath him, and it was finally over… Until one hoarse meow suggested otherwise. A needle flew into Hanji's hand, injecting the antidote into the catboy's arm before anything could happen, falling to the floor himself. He couldn't quite talk, but mouthed the words “I'm sorry” over and over again through tears. Eren hadn't the ability to speak, either, but mouthed back “I know it wasn't your intent”- a form of sorts of forgiveness.


End file.
